Carlos Sainz is about to experience one of the most special weeks of the year: the Spanish F1 Grand Prix in the Barcelona circuit, a route he loves and has ridden countless times since he was a child. Additionally, it will be the last time he competes on board a Ferrari.
In an interview on the Nude Project podcast, the Madrid native spoke about his origins in the world of motorsports and his time in karting. He confessed the advice his father, El Matador, gave him, which changed his perspective on everything.
“I remember a piece of advice that changed my life a little,” he said. “I’ve always been a slightly innocent kid, and as a child, I sinned as innocent as good. I thought I was everyone’s friend, that everyone liked me, and the motor world is a very harsh world. At 10-11 years old, I went to kart races with kids of 11, 12, and 13 years old, and I thought I was everyone’s friend.”
Looking forward to it
Carlos continued to discuss what was happening to him with his opponents. “And they gave me a wax… I don’t know if it was because I was Carlos Sainz’s son, they wanted to beat me more,” he acknowledged. “That in a way I understand, because at that age, you’re trying to stand out, because maybe your parents would tell you that you’re Carlos Sainz’s son and that they’re going to be watching you, and if you beat Carlos Sainz’s son, you’re very good, or you can stand out even more, and they gave me a wax… they hit me from behind, they took me off the track, couldn’t win.”
The conversation that changed everything
Until a conversation came that changed everything. “One day my father sat me down and he told me: ‘Carlos, life is very harsh and more in this sport, either you bite or they bite you, and right now, they are biting you, they are making your life difficult. I know you’re a good kid, that you like to be friends with everyone, make friends, play soccer with other drivers, but here, you either bite or they bite you and when you put that helmet on, make sure you are the one who bites'” he remembers vividly.
Changes
The ‘Ferrarista’ admits that adopting this new mentality took him a while. “It took me a while to change the chip from being the good kid, to being the one who ‘if I have to take you off the track, I’m going to take you out.’ dirty on the court, I still had that fear that everyone would look at me more and think that Carlos Sainz’s son is a fool. You have many mini-complexes, you know that many are looking at you for being the son of, you may be much more careful,” he stated.
